Benny Earl Lovelady, 78, of the Marvin Community, passed away Monday, September 5, 2022. Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 PM Wednesday, September 7, 2022 in the chapel of Fry-Gibbs Funeral Chapel with Rev. Mike Fortenberry officiating. Burial will be at Oaklawn Cemetery in Cooper. Family will receive friends one hour prior to service.
Benny was born April 20, 1944 in Hopkins Co., TX. a son of Bennie Ware and Ava Nell Dodd Lovelady. He grew up in and attended school in Cooper. Benny was a member of the Texas National Guard. He worked in Dallas at Van Winkle Pontiac after graduating from high school. He moved back to Paris and worked at CIT Finance before becoming employed at Central Freight Line. Eventually he resigned from Central and purchased and operated Benny’s Muffler Shop until he received a back injury which forced him to close the muffler shop and he returned to owning and driving his own truck and trailer and driving for Red River Trucking. Benny formally retired about 8 years ago.
Benny loved deer hunting and going to Colorado as often as he could. He also loved mules and dogs especially Australian Shepherds and specifically a sweet girl named Patches and his little doxie “Scooter”. Benny spoke often of his many high school friends and those he had in Paris, as well as some friends in Colorado. He liked revisiting childhood days of rabbit hunting with Billy Jack Silman, being a young man living in Dallas with friends and deer hunting trips. In July of 2021, Benny made one last trip to Colorado and Utah with friends Billy and Jimmy, where he got to visit his beloved Lone Cone Mountain and see plenty of deer and one amazing mountain goat crossing the road right in front of him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Bennie W. Lovelady and Ava Nell Lovelady Toon, his stepfather, Jim Toon and his first wife, Etta Jo Chancellor Atwood.
He married Debbie Lovelady on October of 1981. Benny loved God, and was baptized at East Paris Baptist Church on Lamar Ave. by Pastor Mike Fortenberry. Benny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February of 2022.
Benny is survived by his spouse, Debbie Lovelady; sons, Hunter Lovelady and wife, Amy and Matthew Lovelady; daughter, Tara Gray and husband, David; step-children, Chad Frost and Selina Breshears; grand-daughters, Katarina Embrey and Victoria Ashley; grandson, Dakota Lovelady; great grandchildren, JC and Aiden Embry, Ainslee Griffin, Kinzlee Gray and Waylon Hall. He is also survived by sisters, Joyce, Vickie Crawford, Jeri, Tammy and many nieces and nephews.
